Ex-San Diego mayor sentenced to home confinement for assaulting women

By Josh Levs and David Simpson, CNN

Updated 5:01 PM ET, Mon December 9, 2013

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Businesswoman Dianne York told CNN that San Diego Mayor Bob Filner put his hands on her buttocks during this photo op after a meeting three months ago. York said there were witnesses. She said both her advisers and Filner's were in the room at the time. Click through the gallery of other women who have come forward in the case.

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Caryl Iseman, a San Diego real estate agent, attended an anti-Filner rally in August. She told CNN iReporter Chris Morrow that at a fundraiser 25 years ago, after photos had been taken, Filner "decided he could reach around and grab my breast." Iseman indicated it was the first time she had spoken publicly about the alleged incident. "The sheriff's department knows about it. I have not yet come forward yet with it ... but if it's needed to establish the timeline of how long this guy has been doing this, I will."

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Peggy Shannon, a 67-year-old great-grandmother who works at the Senior Citizens Service Desk in San Diego City Hall, faced "continuous inappropriate sexual advances by Filner while trying to do her job," according to the office of her attorney, Gloria Allred.

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Kathryn Vaughn, a San Diego attorney, told CNN affiliate KFMB that after her husband walked away at a public event 10 years ago, Filner "made an inappropriate movement on my body."

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Eldonna Fernandez says Filner left her a flirtatious e-mail after they met at a Healing and Hiring Fair held by the National Women's Veterans Association of America in 2012. "Hi, it's your newly favorite congressman, Bob Filner. You know, the one who fell in love with you at your last speech," Filner said in the voicemail. Filner, 70, has been dogged for weeks by sexual harassment allegations. He has refused to resign.

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Army veteran Gerri Tindley says Filner got too close to her at a National Women's Veterans Association of America event where she gave a speech about being raped, which she said happened during her eight years of service. Tindley said she felt uncomfortable as Filner moved closer and closer -- so close, she said, that she nearly fell off the couch trying to move away from him.

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Michelle Tyler, center, has accused Filner of unwanted sexual advances. During a news conference, Tyler said that during a visit to his office in June, Filner rubbed her arm and asked for dinner dates in exchange for his helping Katherine Ragazzino, right, a brain-injured Iraq war veteran.

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Renee Estill-Sombright told CNN affiliate KGTV that the mayor called her "beautiful" at a church breakfast in June, said he couldn't take his eyes off her, asked whether she was married and then said he'd like to take her out some time.

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Emily Gilbert accused Filner of sexual harassment on Friday, August 2. She told CNN she was hired to sing at a fundraising event in December and the mayor grabbed her, slid his hand down the small of her back and gave her "tush a pat." He then asked her: "Oh, Marilyn, can I get your card?" she recalled.

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Filner's former spokeswoman, Irene McCormack Jackson, has also accused him of sexual harassment and filed a suit against him. She said Filner subjected her and other women to "crude and disgusting" comments and inappropriate touching. She resigned as Filner's communications director in June after, she said, she decided the mayor would not change his behavior.

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Nonprofit founder Morgan Rose said she met Filner in 2009 when she was lobbying for her organization, which works with military and other families hurt by domestic violence. She says he looked her up and down, stared into her eyes and said, "Your eyes have bewitched me." He then moved to her side of the booth, sat beside her, pinned her to the wall, and put his arm around her, Rose alleged.

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Political consultant Laura Fink has accused the mayor of patting her "posterior" at a fundraising event in 2005. At the time, Fink was working as the deputy manager of Filner's congressional campaign. She said she thinks Filner should resign.

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Sharon Bernie-Cloward, president of the San Diego Port Tenants Association, claims that when Filner was running for mayor in 2012, he approached her at a political event. "He touched me, actually groped me on my backside inappropriately," she told KPBS. "I was left there startled and fearful. In fact, I actually had someone walk me to my car that night."

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Patti Roscoe, a prominent businesswoman in San Diego's tourism and hospitality industry, told KPBS that on numerous occasions, Filner "put me in what I guess now is the famous headlock." She told the station: "I felt fearful, even as well as I knew him, because it was an invasion into my space. And he would come in and try to kiss me on the lips, and I'd have to squirm to get away."

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Veronica "Ronne" Froman, a retired Navy rear admiral and San Diego's former chief operating officer, told KPBS that she and Filner, then a congressman, met a few years ago at his office after everyone had left. "He stopped me and he got very close to me. And he ran his finger up my cheek like this, and he whispered to me, 'Do you have a man in your life?' " she said.

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Joyce Gattas, a dean at San Diego State University, told KPBS that she had several "interactions" with Filner "where he's held me too tight, a kiss on the cheek which is inappropriate, hands on the knee that last too long."

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San Diego mayor's accusers – Lisa Curtin, the director of government and military education at San Diego City College, told KPBS that Filner grabbed her hand, fingered her wedding ring and asked if it was real. She also said he tried to kiss her; she moved her head and felt his tongue on her cheek.

Story highlights

The prosecution says he humiliated, scared, sexualized and devalued the victims

Filner served in Congress for 20 years before his election as mayor in 2012

Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner was sentenced Monday to 90 days in home confinement, three years' probation, and a series of fines totaling about $1,500 for assaulting three women while in office.

The 71-year-old pleaded guilty in October to forciblykissing or grabbing three women at campaign events or at City Hall -- one a felony false imprisonment charge, the other two misdemeanor battery charges. Filner entered the guilty plea under a deal with prosecutors.

The three women were among 19 who accused him of offensive behavior during his tenure as mayor and as a congressman.

Filner will not serve prison time under the plea deal.

GPS monitoring will track his whereabouts during his confinement. He'll be allowed to go out for medical and therapy appointments, religious services and meetings tied to his probation. He'll also be allowed to leave his apartment but stay within the apartment complex.

"I want to apologize to my family who have stood by me during this ordeal, to my loyal staff and supporters, to the citizens of San Diego, and most sincerely to the women I have hurt and offended," Filner said in prepared remarks at the start of the hearing.

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"To all of you, I make the same promise I made to my family: to earn back your trust and my integrity no matter how long it takes and no matter what I have to do. I've already started on my path and I am grateful to all those who are helping me."

But the prosecution said Filner's behavior harmed the women and the city. Referring to the three women as Jane Does 1, 2, and 3, the state said Filner humiliated, scared, embarrassed, sexualized and devalued them.

Prosecutors also noted that after taking part in two weeks of treatment earlier this year, Filner still denied his crimes "and insisted that he was the victim of a lynch mob."

Filner's attorneys said they did not dispute any of the facts stated by the prosecution.

None of the victims chose to be in court for the sentencing.

The felony charge said Filner used force to restrain a woman at a fund-raising event March 6. The misdemeanor charges say he kissed a woman on the lips without her consent at City Hall on April 6 and grabbed a woman's buttock after she asked to have her picture taken with him at a rally on May 25.

Filner was elected mayor in November 2012 after serving in Congress for 20 years.

After veering between contrition and defiance, he resigned August 30. He offered a "deep apology" but also said he was the victim of the "hysteria of a lynch mob."

Under the plea deal, which was announced in October, Filner would be prohibited from ever seeking or holding public office again, the attorney general's office said. Filner also would not be able to vote, serve on a jury or own a firearm while on probation.

Filner also will have to give up pension credit for his time in the mayor's office after March 6, the date of the first offense.